Vastarael stood at the balcony of the palace's east wing. He swapped his usual regal attire for an adventurer's outfit; charcoal-black tactical pants, a long coat reinforced with Xinoraci Runes and fingerless gloves. His long hair was tied up high.
Below him, his daughters were arguing about whose outfit was cooler.
Shimmer's outfit was a midnight-blue cropped jacket with silvery lining, tight combat shorts (she insisted on this) thigh-high stockings and her zweihander, Annihilator, strapped to her back. Runner's outfit was a flowing pale blue traveler's tunic, loose combat pants for movement, boots and her weapon the Crystal Lotus floating behind her. Both wore black T-shirts underneath and Runner was fussing with Shimmer's collar, which Shimmer kept swatting away.
"Runner, stop! I look fine!"
"You look disheveled."
"That is part of the look, Runner."
Vastarael chuckled and stepped over.
"Girls, ready?"
They turned. Shimmer beamed. Runner nodded sharply like a knight receiving orders.
"Dad," Shimmer asked, "sooo… what do we expect inside the Hidden Citadel?"
Runner added, "I heard it's older than Spheraphase itself."
Vastarael stretched his shoulders. "Just follow behind me. If we get separated, you know what to do."
"You mean you actually made Auntie Phae upload a whole set of instructions into her system?"
Shimmer gasped. "Dad used Phaenora?"
"She agree to it."
Lysameria stepped in like royalty returning from conquering a kingdom. Behind her was Asenane dressed in adventurer gear, looking like she had just survived getting lectured by the concept of motherhood itself. Her golden dragon eyes were dead. Her tail drooped like it had lost the will to swish. Even her wings looked like they needed emotional support.
Shimmer whispered to Runner:
"She got hit with a lecture."
Vastarael winced. "Uh… Asa? You good?"
Asenane exhaled like an immortal dragon who had just witnessed ten centuries of consequences.
"I am alive, at least."
Lysameria patted her head like she was dealing with a misbehaving hatchling.
"There, there. You needed correction."
Asenane lowered her head immediately.
"Yes, Lady Lysameria…"
Vastarael quietly mouthed to his daughters:
"She got scolded."
They nodded in solemn agreement.
Lysameria approached Shimmer and Runner, her eyes instantly softening.
"So, these are the two children you adopted?"
Shimmer and Runner both bowed properly.
"Yes, Lady Richinaria," they said together.
Lysameria's expression bloomed. "You're both beautiful. I'm glad my son raised such wonderful girls."
Shimmer's cheeks flushed with pride. Runner smiled politely.
"Since I'll be around for a while," Lysameria continued, "I'll be happy to get to know my granddaughters better. Especially with this whole Divinity loss incident."
Shimmer whispered to Runner:
"We got the most powerful grandma in history."
Runner whispered back:
"Don't let her hear you. She'll lecture you."
Then Lysameria turned to Vastarael.
"You're heading to the Hidden Citadel."
He nodded. "Yeah. I'm taking the girls and Asenane with me."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"So you found my diary."
Vastarael's entire face twitched. The daughters leaned forward.
"Diary?"
"His expression changed. This is bad."
Vastarael cleared his throat like a man trying to suppress trauma.
"Yes."
Lysameria smiled.
"You read the page with the fruit stall incident, didn't you?"
Vastarael coughed so hard that Shimmer had to pat his back.
Runner looked at him, "Dad, you okay? You're red."
Shimmer smirked, "Did grandma write something wild?"
Vastarael whispered hoarsely.
"She wrote lustful poetry about my father, girls. Please stop asking."
Runner covered her mouth. Shimmer burst out laughing. Asenane quietly stepped behind a column to hide her laughter. Lysameria simply moved on, absolutely unfazed by his words.
"The secret tunnel to the Citadel," she said smoothly, "is beneath a town called Broomshaven."
Shimmer blinked. "Broom… shaven? Why does it sound like they sweep things for a living? Do they sell brooms? Or is the town shaped like a broom?"
Vastarael sighed "Girls…"
Lysameria chuckled. "You'll understand once you arrive."
Runner tilted her head. "Is it… weird?"
"My darling girl," Lysameria said, "it is Broomshaven. 'Weird' is their nature."
The daughters exchanged worried glances. Then Lysameria's voice turned serious.
"One more thing. Whatever you do, none of you are to reveal your identities. Not your lineage, not your titles and not even your real names."
Shimmer stiffened. "Why? Are they hostile?"
Lysameria shook her head with a sigh.
"No. They are far worse."
Runner gulped. "Worse than hostility?"
"Yes. They are Spheraphasians without Divinity. And you," she glanced at Vastarael and the girls, "are divine beings."
Vastarael nodded slowly. "So that means…"
"They will worship you," Lysameria said bluntly. "Fanaticism has surged since Divinity vanished. If they find out who you are, they will make your lives very… inconvenient."
Lysameria placed a hand on Vastarael's shoulder.
"Be careful, my son. The Citadel is old, unforgiving and still active. Remember that."
Vastarael nodded. "We'll be safe. Promise."
Lysameria left as gracefully as her footsteps faded down the marble hall, and the four remaining divine beings collectively deflated. Asenane's wings drooped. Shimmer shook her arms like she was trying to get rid of the Nexus pressure still clinging to her skin. .Vastarael just rubbed his forehead.
"Alright, we survived."
Asenane exhaled in a dramatic, exhausted drag. "I have never been lectured like that in my entire existence. I didn't even know Nexus beings could talk with so much sense."
Vastarael stared at her in disbelief. "Wait, hold up. What did she even talk to all of you about?"
Asenane's soul visibly left her body and drifted back.
"She summoned us one by one. Each of us entered your study and the room would… be soundproof. Even our Tethers and Divinities couldn't pick up anything. We have no idea what she told each other. But she told us we are forbidden to tell you, no matter what."
Runner and Shimmer slowly turned toward Vastarael with the same wide-eyed expression.
Vastarael sighed. "Okay. Fair. I'm not trying to die today."
Asenane nodded silently.
"Alright. Enough trauma. Let's go. We'll be gone a while, maybe a long while. This is an adventure after all."
He raised his hand with his fingers glowing sapphire. A deep hum shook the floor. An enormous Seventh Star Teleportation Mystic Circle unfolded beneath them. Seven massive concentric rings with Xinoraci Runes rotated at different speeds.
Runner's eyes widened.
"Dad, how can you summon a Seventh Star Teleportation Circle if you never crafted one with your Circlecraft?"
Vastarael pointed a thumb at himself.
"Dynasty Monarch privilege."
"That's a thing?"
Vastarael nodded. "Ever since I inherited the throne, I can access every Teleportation Mystic Circle on the Anqerise Continent. Father linked them all centuries ago, one for each village, town, city or Borough."
"So all this time you could just teleport anywhere in Anqerise without walking or flying?"
"Yes."
The Mystic Circle glowed brighter as Vastarael tapped into its core. Bands of blue energy rose around them like pillars. The runic language shifted from Xinoraci to a coded teleportation matrix, rotating until it displayed a name:
[BROOMSHAVEN ANQERISE BORDER REGION]
Shimmer whispered:
"So we're actually going to a place named after a cleaning tool?"
Runner whispered back:
"Grandma warned us. Nothing is normal about this town."
Asenane muttered, "I swear if everyone is holding brooms…"
Vastarael waved them in.
"Alright. Step inside. Don't touch anything glowing unless it glows twice, because then it's stable. If it glows once it's reacting, if it glows three times—"
Runner's eyes widened. "What happens then?"
"It's going to explode."
Shimmer shrieked. "WHY DID YOU SAY THAT SO CASUALLY?!"
"Because you should know."
"DAD."
He laughed. "Relax. None of the unstable ones appear unless the circle is damaged."
"Is it damaged?" Runner asked carefully.
"Not even a little bit."
"Okay good, because I was ready to not enter the teleportation circle."
"Remember, cover your energy! Don't leak an ounce of divinity!"
"Got it!" Shimmer and Runner echoed.
Asenane nodded. "I already suppressed mine."
The Mystic Circle flared as light swallowed the four of them instantly. For a moment, they were weightless, suspended between planes, drifting through light streams like rivers of stars. Shimmer reached out in awe.
Runner whispered, "It's beautiful…"
Asenane murmured, "Teleportation of this tier always is."
And Vastarael closed his eyes, feeling the signature of his father's craft. A quiet warmth filled his chest.
'Just like you left it, dad. Just how far do I have to get to be as strong as you?'
A thump of boots hit the ground. They stood in the middle of a small, foggy town square. Old wooden houses lined the cobblestone streets. Windmills turned lazily in the distance. And every single house had… brooms.
There were brooms on the roofs, brooms on the doors, brooms in barrels and a giant broom statue in the center of the plaza. And in the distance, someone was sweeping. Another person sweeping behind that person and a third sweeping behind the second one.
Three generations of broom-users sweeping the same road, synchronized like a cult ritual.
Shimmer's jaw dropped. Runner just whispered:
"Grandma was not exaggerating."
Asenane stared at the broom statue.
"Why does that broom have a crown?"
Vastarael sighed.
"Welcome to Broomshaven, everyone."